Get excited about Evangelization

October: Mission Month

October is a time of grace for the Church, a time when the zeal for mission is renewed. In every corner of the world, the words of Jesus resound: “ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19). This month, known as Mission Month , invites us to pray for missionaries, to give thanks for the witness of so many men and women who dedicate their lives to proclaiming the Gospel, and, above all, to rediscover that each of us—as baptized Christians—is called to be a missionary disciple .

The mission is not a task reserved for a select few; it is the very identity of the Church. Pope Francis has reminded us of this countless times with even greater force: “The Church exists to evangelize.” Therein lies the reason for being of our communities, parishes, and families.

In this context, the book “Get Excited About Evangelization” serves as a compass for our time. Its proposal is clear and challenging: to live the mission with joy, hope, and a concrete commitment to peace, justice, and reconciliation. The author invites us to open our eyes to the suffering of the world and to allow ourselves to be challenged by the Spirit who sends us as artisans of fraternity.

At Paulinas, we want to promote the reading of the book as a concrete tool to renew our missionary commitment this October, and help us discover that evangelizing today also means working for human dignity, solidarity, and peace.

The mission: heart of the Church

Mission is not an optional activity. It is the heartbeat of the Church. From the first disciples to our own day, Christians are, by definition, witnesses. The Gospel of Matthew reminds us of the last will of the risen Lord: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… and I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt 28:19-20).

Mission is a universal mandate that transcends the centuries. In the Acts of the Apostles, we find the promise that underpins this sending: “ You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). This is not a human effort, but a gift of the Spirit that empowers the Church to go forth without fear and with joy.

Saint Paul, the tireless apostle, understood this call with profound conviction: “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). For him, evangelizing was a grateful response to the love of Christ that had transformed him. He did not preach ideas or theories, but the living experience of a personal encounter with the Risen Lord.

Blessed James Alberione, founder of the Pauline Family, embraced this same spirit and expressed it with a phrase that resonates powerfully today: “ To practice the charity of Truth.” Evangelizing is an act of love, because it is sharing with others the greatest treasure we have received: Jesus Christ himself, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Therefore, to speak of mission is to speak of the very DNA of the Church. And every Christian, grafted onto Christ through baptism, becomes an envoy.

The baptized person, a missionary by nature

We often think that missionaries are only those who go to distant lands, crossing seas and borders. However, the Second Vatican Council reminds us that every baptized person is a missionary by nature , because in the sacrament we have received the gift of the Spirit who impels us to be witnesses of Christ in the world.

This means that the mission begins in everyday life: in the family, at work, at school, in the parish community. The mother who passes on the faith to her children, the young person who dares to live the Gospel consistently at university, the worker who acts with justice and solidarity… all of them are missionaries in their own environments.

The mission is not simply about “doing things,” but about being the presence of Christ among our brothers and sisters . And this is achieved when our lives reflect the joy of those who have been touched by God's love.

Pope Francis emphasized the idea of the Church going forth: “I prefer a Church that is bruised, battered, and dirty from going out into the streets, rather than a Church that is unhealthy from being shut up and from clinging to its own security” (Evangelii Gaudium, 49). Evangelizing involves movement, risk, and courage.

The book "Get Enthusiastic About Evangelization" captures this spirit, reminding us that mission is not the task of a few specialists, but the vocation of all. Every baptized person is called to be enthusiastic about the proclamation, to discover that being Christian means being sent in the name of the Spirit .

The challenge of evangelization today

Evangelizing today presents unique challenges. We live in a world marked by secularization, religious indifference, and, in many places, by the suffering caused by armed conflict, social injustice, and violence. Faced with this reality, mission cannot be empty rhetoric; it needs to be an embodied witness .

The hunger for peace, meaning, and reconciliation that pervades our societies cries out for a Church that proclaims the Gospel through concrete acts of love. The missionary of the 21st century must be sensitive to the cry of the poor, the migrants, the marginalized; he must denounce injustice and, at the same time, sow hope.

In the digital realm, a new mission field is also opening up. Social media, mass media, and virtual environments are “new frontiers” that demand creativity and boldness. Evangelizing in the digital culture means learning to communicate Christ in a language that is approachable, authentic, and capable of touching hearts.

That is why, today more than ever, we need to rekindle our enthusiasm for the mission. It is not about imposing, but about proposing; not about condemning, but about accompanying; not about seeking followers, but about proclaiming God's unconditional love.

Contributions from the book "Get Excited about Evangelization"

The author offers us a profoundly relevant and necessary perspective on evangelization. Its pages challenge us to understand that proclaiming the Gospel in our context also implies committing ourselves to building a more just, compassionate, and fraternal society.

The book emphasizes the importance of preparing the Church and society to live in a post-conflict world. Evangelizing, in this sense, means sowing seeds of reconciliation, working to heal wounds, and educating in a culture of peace. One cannot proclaim Christ while turning one's back on human suffering. Evangelizers must have compassionate hearts, capable of being moved by and acting upon the pain of their brothers and sisters.

The proclamation of the Gospel is inseparable from the defense of life, from conception to natural death. But this respect is not merely words: it translates into concrete acts of solidarity with the most vulnerable. The book reminds us that evangelizing also means fighting against the structures of sin that generate inequality and violence. The Christian mission involves working for more equitable societies, where justice and fraternity reign.

One of the greatest challenges is transforming our way of thinking. Evangelizers must overcome indifference and complacency to live with the courage of those who believe the Gospel can change history. The Christian message demands firmness in the face of injustice. It is not about revenge, but about truth and justice as paths to authentic reconciliation. The author emphasizes that evangelization has a profoundly dialogical face. Missionaries do not impose, but rather open paths of encounter, listening, and reconciliation. In short, the book shows that evangelizing today is not just preaching in a church, but building a culture of peace at all levels of society.

Evangelizing is building peace

True peace is not the absence of conflict, but the fruit of justice, truth, and love. Therefore, evangelizing also means committing oneself to building a peace that springs from a heart reconciled with God and with one's brothers and sisters. All Christians are called to be peacemakers . And peace is built with small gestures: forgiving, listening, sharing, building bridges. In this sense, the evangelizer is also a sower of reconciliation, someone who, through their life, proclaims: “Christ is our peace” (Eph 2:14).

The book "Get Excited About Evangelization" invites us to recognize this peacemaking dimension of the mission. To evangelize is to light candles in the darkness of violence and to proclaim through our lives that God's love is stronger than hatred and division.

Dear brothers and sisters, October is the opportune time to rediscover our missionary identity . We cannot remain still. The Holy Spirit impels us to go out, to speak, to bear witness, to build. Mission begins today, in everyday life, with gestures of love that enlighten those around us.

Let us pray for all the missionaries who dedicate their lives to the most difficult places in the world. Let us give thanks for the seeds of faith that others have sown in us. And above all, let us respond generously to Christ's call, who continues to say: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (Jn 20:21).

On this path, the book "Get Excited About Evangelization" is a concrete and timely invitation. Its pages challenge us to overcome indifference, to become sensitive to human suffering, and to work for a reconciled society. It is a work that can help us live out our role as missionary disciples with greater commitment, convinced that evangelizing also means building peace, justice, and fraternity.

May this missionary month be for all of us a time of spiritual renewal, enthusiasm for the Gospel, and real commitment to the mission we have received.